I'm as angry and distraught as anyone in the wake of the insurrection instigated by Trump last week, but I am developing doubts about the responses that are occurring or soon are to occur.
Yes, in the heat of the moment, I called for Trump's impeachment during the riot, which I termed a coup attempt. Then, in the aftermath, I started thinking the 25th Amendment might be a better option.
Now as the Democrats prepare an impeachment and the 25th Amendment appears to be a no-go, my views are evolving along with the circumstances.
Perhaps a Congressional vote of censure would be the wisest move. Such a move could include a bipartisan declaration that Trump is unfit to hold any federal office in the future.
The main problem facing Congress and the incoming Biden administration is that they *cannot* do nothing. They cannot stand by and allow a mob to invade the Capitol without consequences. They have to do something.
But if they over-react, they will only succeed in solidifying the base of support among Trump's aggrieved white supporters. They already appear poised to continue their campaign of terror against statehouses around the country as well as in Washington, D.C.
Ultimately, how can Biden ever hope to unify the country once further divisive acts like impeachment are taken? From the earliest days of his campaign for the presidency, Biden has said he will strive to represent all Americans, not just those who voted for him. This will be hard to do if he is identified with what will be seen as a vindictive reprisal against Trump for the insurrection.
***
Beyond these political concerns, I am deeply troubled by the social media companies banning Trump permanently. This is censorship by private companies that would seem to me to violate the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Don't read me wrong: I strongly condemn the hate-filled, racist, violence-inciting lies circulated by Trump and his acolytes. It is reminiscent of the rise of authoritarian forces in the U.S. and Europe in the 1930s, when the ultimate result was the rise of fascism, the Holocaust, and World War Two.
But I defend Trump's right to speak. I have to, as a First Amendment advocate.
The real work those of us who believe in truth and accuracy have to do is to somehow open a dialogue with the alienated segments of the population who believe conspiracy theories so strongly that the voice of reason cannot currently break through.
They have calcified themselves, and are defended psychologically against imaginary forces like the "MSM," which is an artificial construct used to reject the traditional sources of accurate information developed by journalists.
I have witnessed how our credibility as journalists has been undermined by Trump at his rallies denouncing us as the "enemy of the people" who should be beaten and locked up. I have feared for my colleagues, some of whom I know personally, in the national press corps who have been targeted by his violent supporters.
But if Twitter and Facebook and the rest remove the main vehicle Trump uses to blow off steam, they will just confirm his fantasy.
The plain truth is that censorship does not work.
Repression does not work.
As difficult as it is, we need to build a national consensus to recommit to the freedoms and institutions that made this country great.
We need to talk, not ban talking, before it's too late.
***
The news:
* Journalists were attacked, threatened and detained during the Capitol siege (WashPo)
* Democrats Ready Impeachment Charge Against Trump for Inciting Capitol Mob (NYT)
* Trump faces mounting demands to leave office or face impeachment (WashPo)
* Twitter Permanently Bans Trump, Capping Online Revolt (NYT)
* Biden, who ran on unity, now leads a party furious at GOP (WashPo) |
* Facing Intensifying Crises, Biden Pledges Action to Address Economy and Pandemic (NYT)
* A fast-track impeachment would not be justice. It would be pointless revenge. (WashPo)
* America in 2021: Racial Progress in the South, a White Mob in the Capitol -- A jarring juxtaposition is forcing a 244-year-old nation to contend with its original conundrum: Whose democracy is it? (NYT)
* The Capitol riot shouldn’t have surprised us. Trump forecast it for five years. (WashPo)
* Bobi Wine, Uganda’s leading opposition figure, was pulled from his car by the police on Thursday. He has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court accusing the country’s president of authorizing a campaign of violence against opposition politicians and their supporters ahead of next week’s general election. (NYT)
* How do liberty and human rights survive the age of the Internet? (WashPo)* To keep Atlas Cafe on the map, community offers kindness is from Mission Local, a site that's been all up in the Mission District since 2008 reporting on everything from tacos to tech, crime to culture, murals to MUNI, recording the lives and changes in the city’s oldest (and arguably, best) neighborhood. (Mission Local) (I held many meetings as. a media critic with startup entrepreneurs at the Atlas Cafe. -- DW) *** I will remember you, will you remember me? Don't let your life pass you by Weep not for the memories Remember the good times that we had? I let them slip away from us when things got bad How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun Want to feel your warmth upon me I want to be the one I will remember you, will you remember me? Don't let your life pass you by Weep not for the memories |
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